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April 29, 2005
LETTER: PETTing zoo
These articles include numerous threats of freezing positions that are not filled, cutting back some of those that are and possibly laying off people in the process. All of these articles have pushed and prodded me to respond and hopefully band with other citizens that feel as I do. I know there is at least one person out there ... I read her letter in the paper. I have to give her credit for having the intestinal fortitude to write it while being employed by the county. I have been the recipient of a two-hour lag time with a call for service from the Nye County Sheriff's Office. I called them and it was low priority so I had to wait for two hours. Did this wait make me angry? If it did I would be angry with the right people. The Nye County Sheriff's Office was not to blame. They are seriously understaffed. So who is to blame you ask? Where do I begin? I have to put the blame solely with the Nye County Commission, both past and present. They are the ones that have squandered resources and funding. They are the ones that fall short and then place the blame on other areas. I have lived in Nye County for many years now and I have seen examples of their spending. The idea of a comptroller position is a prime example. Cry poverty and then create a new position. Does that make sense to anyone outside the commission itself? I also think I should bring up the "purchasing department," which is a department created with the idea of saving money and ending frivolous spending. What is the budget for that department and how much money has been saved? No reflection on the employees of that department, I am sure they work very hard as well. I could go on and on with decisions made by the Board of Commissioners that, in my opinion, were anything but cost effective. Going back to Nye Regional Medical Center, Rachel Nicholson, Larry Beller and Associates, Pahrump Medical Center and the "Taj Mahal" (a $13 million blunder), not to mention the countless number of consultants hired by the county, under the guise of saving money in some way, shape or form. I have relatives that work for the county and I know that, for the most part, Nye County employees are hard working citizens who actually care about our communities. They are paid less than employees of Clark County but choose to stay here, based on the many attributes of Nye County. I have faith that our county commission will come around. It's not necessarily a "bad thing" to spend PETT money on badly needed county services if monies are not being spent elsewhere with complete disregard. We all need to support our county government and show them the direction that we want to take. B. MULLINS |
